


Safety

by Pins_and_Patches



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Canonical Character Death, Link (Legend of Zelda) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, M/M, Mental Health Issues, warning: after reading this fic the word safe may not look like a word anymore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:35:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24057601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pins_and_Patches/pseuds/Pins_and_Patches
Summary: Safety.For Link, everything has always been about safety. Where he is and who he’s with dictates what he allows himself to say and do- if anything at all. You’re safe here. You’re not safe here. You’re safe with her but not with him. You’re not safe with all of them but you’re safe with just the Champions and you’re especially safe with Zelda and most of all, you’re safe with Revali.He hasn’t been safe like that in 100 years.
Relationships: Link/Revali (Past)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 149





	Safety

**Author's Note:**

> This was for Day 4 of Revalink Week on Tumblr, I particularly liked this one so I posted it here too.  
> It's a good thing I liked it so much because it took me so fucking long-  
> I was working on and off for about 12 consecutive hours on this. I got 5 hours in, had rewritten entirely twice, and decided I didn’t like anything about my idea, so I deleted it and started over altogether, stopped for a few hours and came back. This was the end result, I hope you like it as much as I do

Safety.

For Link, everything has always been about safety.

Safe here but not there, with them but not them.

Safe in the woods alone with no one but the voice inside the sword you can’t hear, but you can feel the presence of whoever is speaking. Not safe in front of the castle with all of these unfamiliar faces and a Rito who already hates you- not for who you are but for what you’re doing.

Safe outside your house at the end of Hateno Village in the dead of night. Not safe in the castle, being observed by countless strangers watching your every move and ready to pounce.

Oddly enough, safe in Rito Village with Revali, although he’s being unnecessarily petty and snarky. Not safe at a fair distance away from the princess, following alongside her as she talks about the Divine Beasts- not safe because not only is she in a major position of authority, but she hates you too.

Safe atop Divine Beast Vah Rudania with Daruk and on Divine Beast Vah Naboris with Urbosa. Not safe as the princess reprimands you, insisting she doesn’t need someone to accompany her. Why does she hate you? Why does the Rito Champion hate you? Why does everyone hate you?

Safe with the other Champions. Not safe around the other knights. Safe with Princess Zelda. Not safe in the presence of King Rhoam.

Safe alone with Revali. Not safe silently watching as Zelda gets reprimanded by the king for not having her sealing powers unlocked.

Safe anywhere with Revali, as you slowly grow closer until you’re friends instead of rivals, then lovers instead of friends.

Not safe anywhere around the countless people you have to impress.

He’s not safe now. Not anywhere except completely alone by a campfire at night.

He’s not safe in Zora’s Domain anymore- maybe he never was, only with Mipha.

He’s safe in Gerudo Town, but it’s fake.

He was once safe in Goron City, but not anymore. 

And as much as he wanted to be, he wasn’t safe in Rito Village.

He didn’t even feel safe alone on the top of the rock at the center of the village.

This used to be Revali’s favorite place outside of his home at the Flight Range and Divine Beast Vah Medoh.

Speaking of which, the Divine Beast was perched on the rock beside him. It seemed so close he could reach out and touch it.

He wondered if Revali was in there.

“‘Vali?” He called quietly.

His heart sunk at the silence. He didn’t know why, but he’d been hoping somehow that Revali would still be there.

He was gone for real now.

Link’s eyes burned, a painfully familiar sensation that he knew meant he was going to cry.

_Don’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcryyou’renotsafeyou’renotsafeyou’renotsafe-_

The voice in his head made him want to scream. Of _course_ he wasn’t safe, he was _never_ safe, he was _never fucking safe._

He dug his cut and bandaged fingers into his blond hair, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head on them.

_You’re not safe. You’re not safe. Stop. Stop it. You’re not safe._

Link choked back a sob, but immediately wished he’d just let himself cry this once, because the painful numbness that came over him was much worse.

_You’re not safe. You’re not safe. You’re not-_

He felt something brush gently across his cheek- a presence which wasn’t truly there. As if on cue, the anxiety and the numbness faded immediately and a wave of emotion fell over him.

There was silence, but the presence remained in the air. It was cold, sharp and chilling, yet it felt familiar. Comfortable.

_Safe._

For a second, he dared to hope.

“Revali?”


End file.
